Kicking off Round 1 of the Toto Invitational Tournament Spectacular this week, with guest bracket busters Listeners Jorn and Mikael! They certainly proved their Toto bona fides...but did they get the picks right? You make the call! Tune in...follow along...fill out your own brackets. It’ll be madness, y’all! Listen and Subscribe: ⁠Find the podcast platform of your choice here⁠. Lightning Round: Found at Sea Buried Treasures Final Thoughts References and Related: ⁠⁠Playlist...

It's March! You know what that means around these parts. Time for a tournament of madness! This year, it's not the NIT (Nyacht Invitational Tournament) but the Toto Invitational Tournament Spectacular! John and Tom set the table this week...deciding the play-in games and talking through some tough breaks on Selection Sunday. Next week, we kick off a two-part Toto tourney. Follow along to see which Toto classic emerges as the most representative of the genius that was and is Toto. Listen...

Tom is going in blind this week, as John pops him with a surprise topic. Totally unprepared and unrehearsed, the crew goes exploring through the heyday of music production through a totally new lens. What’s the surprise? Tune in to find out for yourself. Listen and Subscribe: Find the podcast platform of your choice here. Lightning Round: Found at Sea: Our Bob Clearmountain Spotify Playlist Buried Treasures Final Thoughts References and Related: ⁠Playlist of songs featured on...

How well do you know the name, talents and discography of Bob Clearmountain? You certainly know the music he’s mixed. Perhaps the first “official mix master,” Clearmountain has his fingerprints on some of the best-sounding music in pop/rock history.  This week John and Tom dive into his career to uncover and examine what makes Clearmountain one of the most sought-after mixers in music...even to this day! Come along as we continue on our journey in the pursuit of music perfection. Listen...

Neil Stubenhaus returns to the podcast for part two of our conversation with the iconic session bassist, from his approach to his discography, from his philosophy to his memories of sitting in on some of the most iconic sessions from the 70, 80s and all the way through to modern day. Come back to see if Neil storms off the set, as John feared at the end of Part 1! Listen and Subscribe: Find the podcast platform of your choice here. Lightning Round: Found at Sea Buried Treasures ...

The talented, cerebral and prolific session bass guitarist Neil Stubenhaus joins the podcast this week to talk through his approach, his discography, his philosophy and his memories of sitting in on some of the most iconic sessions from the 70, 80s and all the way through to modern day. Tally another bass player, for those keeping score at home! Listen and Subscribe: Find the podcast platform of your choice here. Lightning Round: Found at Sea Buried Treasures Final...

We’re back! Season 5 of Out of the Main picks up where we left off at the end of Season 4: with John’s cliffhanger! Did music production and artistry peak during the yacht rock years — beyond the confines of yacht rock itself? If so, why? Where else did we see the same attention to detail and emphasis on sophistication? When did it end, and why? Where are we headed going forward? All of these questions and more are answered in the first episode of Season 5! Dive in!  Listen and...

Our final intermission episode before next week's launch of Season 5 brings one of our all-time favorite guests: Tris Imboden. This first part of our two-part interview was the beginning of a wonderful relationship between Tom and John and one of music's true gems. Part 2 is here. Original show notes: Legendary session and touring drummer Tris Imboden climbs aboard the yacht rock podcast, “Out of the Main,” to discuss the yacht rock years, what’s happened since, and—yes!—what’s happening...

Digging through the archives as we get ready to launch Season 5 in a couple weeks and found this buried treasure — our first interview with Dane Donohue! The yacht rock legend joined the podcast to discuss life after rock and roll, his big break, the making of a masterpiece with hall of famers, and much, much more. Keith Barry, journalist with ⁠Narratively.com⁠, told the story we all needed to hear: whatever happened? Part one of a two-part interview with “the lost prince of yacht...

Our tour of the archives continue, while we prepare for Season 5. Here is Part 1 of our chat with Tamara and Bill Champlin when we caught up to them backstage before a concert in Dayton Ohio in 2022. Part 2 is here. Listen in to clips from their conversation: everything from singing technique to songwriting to performing live and working in the studio. We covered a lot and learned a lot, and you will two. It’s not just The Champ...it’s The Co-Champs! Keep tabs on Bill and Tamara and check...

During the inter-season hiatus, we will continue to post interviews from the archives. Here is one of our all-time favorite guests: Jay Graydon! We pick the conversation up with Part 2 of our three-part interview. Part 1 is here. Part 3 is here. Highlights from Part 2: The Rhodes’ comeback in modern music ⁠Watch Stefan Olofsson do his Al Jarreau and Steely Dan medleys on the Rhodes⁠ (scroll down once you click that link) The Jay Graydon “sonicscape” that transcended artists and...

For those new to the podcast, we are republishing previously released episodes until we kick off Season 5 in a few weeks. This week is Part 1 of our two-episode interview with Kenny Loggins, covering most of what was revealed in his memoir, "Still Alright," published in 2022. If you'd like to continue along with the conversation, part 2 can be found here (wherever you get your podcasts). References and Related: John’s Spotify Yacht Rock Playlist Tom’s Spotify Yacht Rock Playlist ...

Our favorite convention from the late 70s and early 80s: Everything had a Christmas Special! And every year, they would rerun the same holiday special specials and we never got tired of them. It was tradition! Our yacht rock podcast should be no different! John and Tom scour music-dom for the yachtiest yuletide merriment to bring your season glad “tide”-ings, including songs from the era and modern buried treasures from classic yacht rock artists.Who’s on your yachty list? Tell us tunes,...

Tom and John close out the fourth season of Out of the Main by clearing the decks of various odds and ends they’ve saved up over the course of the year but never got to. PLUS, some discussion of new music to come, as well as a look ahead to Season 5. NOTE: Here's that funk playlist John made. Thank you all for listening, and especially to those for supporting the podcast. We literally couldn’t do it without you!  See you all in 2024 for Season 5! Listen and Subscribe: Find the...

E23.46: Monkey House’s Don Breithaupt Tom knew him as one of the members of Monkey House. You might know him as the Emmy-award-winning composer and musician who has worked with the likes of Chicago, Marc Jordan, Jay Graydon and Manhattan Transfer. Others know him as the author of the “Aja” book, having interviewed Donald Fagan himself. And if you still don’t know him, tune in to get to know Don Breithaupt, a buried treasure hidden in plain sight and well worth learning all...

The Grammy-Award-winning first-call brass maestro Jerry Hey rejoins the podcast for part two of our  interview. Learn the back story, hear his process, and tune in for some intriguing and informative anecdotes. Beginning even before yacht rock all the way up to recent gigs, you won’t want to miss a beat! If you want to hear our original tribute episode to Jerry Hey “Beast Mode,” that can be found here. Lightning Round: Found at Sea Buried Treasures Off the Map References and...

The man behind countless memorable horn arrangements and countermelodies, Jerry Hey, joins the podcast for a two-part interview. Learn the back story, hear his process, and tune in for some intriguing and informative anecdotes. Beginning even before yacht rock all the way up to recent gigs, you won’t want to miss a beat! If you want to hear our original tribute episode to Jerry Hey “Beast Mode,” that can be found here. Listen and Subscribe: Find the podcast platform of your choice...

John Zaika, the filmmaker behind the forthcoming Bobby Kimball documentary “Kite on a String,” returns to the podcast to answer the most-asked question on our YouTube channel: “When is the Bobby Kimball story coming out?!” John provides updates, shares new stories, and reveals things we never knew about the living legend who once fronted Toto. Lightning Round: Found at Sea Buried Treasures Off the Map References and Related: John’s Spotify Yacht Rock Playlist Tom’s Spotify...

Captain G climbs aboard to take the class to school on the history of disco, including its relation and adjacency to yacht rock. On loan from Yacht Rock Miami, DJ Alex brings us back to the 70s and the origin of disco, including the differences between New York, west-coast, and Miami disco. Were there any crossovers between disco and what we know today as yacht rock? Let’s go to school to find out! Submitted for your listening pleasure: Disco Meets Yacht Rock Lightning Round: Found...

It’s the crossover episode we’ve all been waiting for! No, not The Simpsons meets Family Guy. Not Fonzie appearing on Laverne & Shirley. Not Chicago first responders crossing the streams on shows that nobody watches anyway… It’s Out of the Main meets Shelter at Sea, featuring the Hot Shyachts from Milwaukee Yacht Rock themselves, John O'Grady and Prescott Sobol! This week, our show teams up with theirs to take a deep dive 🛎️ into the history of Christian Contemporary Music,...

Love is in the air this week on Out of the Main, as we return for another “Who Wore It Best” episode. (Spotify playlist link.) Now entering the ring: “Can’t Hide Love” Earth, Wind & Fire Jaye P. Morgan Dionne Warwick “It’s the Falling In Love” Michael Jackson Carole Bayer Sager Dionne Warwick “Love Never Felt So Good” Johnny Mathis Paul Anka Michael Jackson Michael Jackson Michael Jackson Reb Yamamoto Listen and Subscribe: Find the podcast...

In honor of Halloween, John and Tom devote an entire episode to the dissection, admiration and analysis of Atlanta Rhythm Section's "Spooky." Until you've studied it, you haven't truly heard it. Break out the headphones, people! Do you know the full history behind the song? How much do you know about the genesis of Atlanta Rhythm Section? Are you aware of the many, many versions of the song, dating back to the 1960s? PLUS, don’t miss Tom’s “Halloween on the Yacht” Spotify...

What are the best grooves out there, in yacht rock and nearby? John and Tom discuss the making of a great groove and run down each of their own top-five list (sort of) of best grooves of all time. Don’t miss the teaser in the intro/outro music: Sunrise on the Water, by Page 99 and featuring the legend himself, Dane Donohue! Now available everywhere! Lightning Round: Found at Sea Buried Treasures Off the Map References and Related: John’s Spotify Yacht Rock Playlist Tom’s...

Another installment of “Where Were They Then,” Out of the Main’s answer to Where are they now?  A “special” guest co-host joins the podcast to help us examine the post-yacht-rock career and catalogue of David Sanborn, one of session-dom’s finest! How did he fare as a featured solo act? Just fine, thank you! What was the “heyday?” Marcus Miller, the partner in crime Was Sanborn a product — or the genesis — of a social awakening to “sexy sax?” Who are the yachty cats that came along...

Tom and John steer the helm across the pond to discover the connections and correlatives (yes, that’s a word) between the yacht-rocky west coast sound with the emergence of “sophistipop” shortly after the yacht rock heyday. What were the tie-ins. Are there comparisons to be made? Were there influences, or just coincidences. And, of course, what is there to discuss regarding personnel? More than you might think... Is there such thing as “Sophisti-Yacht?” You be the judge. Plus, Tom’s...